Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Drona is the new film where Abhishek Bacchan and Priyanka Chopra have played their respective roles successfully. Abhishek Bacchan played the role of Aditya in the film who used to get nightmares from childhood. Whenever he used to wake up from sleep there used to be a magical blue rose petal which used to present itself before him.

An evil sorcerer, Riz Raizada in another town wanted to get hold of the secret which Drona had. It was not possible to get the secret without conquering Drona. One day Riz met Drona and recognized him. Sonia, the leader of the cult made Drona realize his identity.

She took him to his place of birth that was the ancient city of Pratapgarh. Her main intention was to remind him about his background where his mother Jayati Debi lived. She could answer all the questions which Drona never remembered but required to know as there were lot of stories relating to his past life and they were material in his present life.

But Riz Raizada caught hold of him and the confrontation with the evil powers started. The remedies which Drona used to see in his dreams helped him to face the odds and win over the challenging circumstances.

The story was based on fantasy, but Abhishek Bacchan and Priyanka Chopra were brilliant in their respective roles. The action sequences were also innovative. Priyanka Chopra had many releases this year and most of them were successful.

Jaya Bacchan was impressive in the role of the mother Jayati Devi. KK Menon did well in the film. Ashu Druv had given the music and it was impressive. The only concern is that none of the films relating to fantasy could succeed this year. Otherwise Drona has all the elements of impressing the audience and becoming hit.

Nirmal Kumar had acted in landmark Bengali films during the 50s and 60s. He acted in the role of literary educated character in the film Sesher Kobita in the early 50s. Then he got a landmark role in Tapan Sinha’s Louha Kapat. He played the role of a jailor who witnessed the stories of different prisoners in his prison. He almost portrayed the observation of Jorasondho, the author of the epic novel.

He played the role of a compassionate doctor in Tapan Sinha’s film Khaniker Atithi. He treated a small boy who was suffering from infirmity in the legs. Later on he came to know that the boy was the child of Ruma Guha Thakurta, the woman he was supposed to marry but could not marry due to different reasons. He even took the child to Kolkata to show him to his senior doctor played by Radha Mohan Bhattacharya who ultimately cured him. His ability to interact with the little child had created a lasting impact in the minds of cinematic audience.

He received the BFJA award for best performance in the film Kamal Lata. He played the role of a muslim poet depicted by writer Sarat Chandra Chatterji who had stayed in Baishnov Ashram and composed devotional songs. His association with one of the devotees played by Suchitra Sen compelled the other members from boycotting her from society. Uttam Kumar played the role of (Srikanto) Sarat Chandra Chatterij and he took Kamallata ( Suchitra Sen) from the place. Nirmal Kumar died at the end of then film. His lips in the song “o mo kokhon shuru” sung by Shaymal Mitra and composed by Robin Chatterji had touched the souls of the viewers of classic films.

His performance in the film Chaya Shurjo requires special mention. He played the role of the uncle of Sharmila Tagore who was disliked by all the family members and who lost his husband also due to illness. Nirmal Kumar was the poet in the film who was the silent observer of the ill-treatment towards the unfortunate girl in Partho Pratim Choudhury’s epic film. His other successful films include Upahaar, Kono Ekdin, Lal Pathor, Bishkonya, etc.

His soft style of performance in majority of films had touched the viewers and for those reasons his films should be preserved and restored.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Dharmender and Sharmila Tagore had acted in many bollywood films together and in most of the cases the films had become extremely successful. Their film Mere Humdum Mere Dost became hit mainly due to the melodious music composed by LP in the film. Rafi’s songs like “na ja, kahin ab na ja”, “hui shaam unka”, etc. became landmark hits in the late 60s.

They did very well in the film Satyakam directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Dharmender played the role of an engineer who came to know the crude reality relating to the corruption in the relative sector. He married Sharmila Tagore whose modesty was outraged and there was nobody to marry. Dhamender received the acclaimation of critics for his good performance in the film.

Both of them showed their comedy skills in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s film Chupke Chupke which was the remake of Uttam Kumar’s film Chodobeshi. Dharmender was a Professor of Botany who pretended to be the driver of Om Prakash and ran away with Sharmila. Big B was asked the play the role of the Professor of Botany and he did the acting to perfection and got ultimately engaged with Jaya Bacchan and got married to her. SD Burman’s music was successful with songs like “ab ke sajan”, “chupke chupke” sung by Lata and “saregama” sung by Rafi and Kishore.

Both of them did well in the film Yakeen, where again the music was excellent. Rafi’s song “gar tum bhula na doge” became big hit in that age. With the advent of action films Dharmender got involved in big budget films like Sholay, Jugnu, Charas, etc., and Sharmila Tagore concentrated to soft romantic films like Mausam, Dooriyan, etc., with Sanjeev Kumar, Uttam Kumar and others.

Yet the viewers accepted the pair of Dharmender and Sharmila Tagore both in the soft romantic films and comedy films.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Sonu Niigaam had shown his potential to sing any type of songs in the last few years. He is an indispensable asset of bollywood films and his range starting from classical songs to westernized songs and light romantic songs had created a sensation for the new generation.

He showed his patriotic image in the songs sung in the film Border including songs like “sandese ate hai” and Refugee like “mere humsafar”, “panchi nadiya”, etc. He moved the listeners out of their seats with the song “pal pal” from the film Lage Raho Munnabhai and “no entry” from the film No Entry.

His song “aaj ki raat” sung in the film Don, for Shahrukh Khan had amazed the viewers, similar to the song “tenu le” and “salaam – e-ishq” for Salman Khan in the film Salaam-e-ishq. He kept his romantic andaaz intact in the song “maria maria” for Salmaan Khan in the film Partner and “mai agar kahoon” for Shahrukh Khan in the film Om Shamti Om.

His album titled “Rafi resurrected” having few of the legendary hits of the evergreen legend of legends and sung by Sonu Nigaam in Birmingham and other cities of UK mesmerized the international audience. His classical album titled “classically mild” showed his depth of classical singing which makes him unparallel if compared with the other bollywood singers of the present age. He had rightly been the role model of young singers like Rahul Vaidya and Imon Chatterji.

His songs in the film Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, including the song “kabhi alvida na kehna” had shown his tragic andaz. He had rocked the audience with the song “nagara nagara” in Punjabi folk andaaz in the film Jab We Met. He also showed his royal andaaz in the song “in lamhon ke damaan” in the film Jodha Akbar, for Hrithik Roshan.

Composers like AR Rehman could experiment a lot in the film Saathiya due to the presence of Sonu Nigaam at this moment other composers like Anu Malik to Shankar Ehsaan Loy and from Pritaam to Rajesh Roshan consider him the leading singer even without doing injustice to the other singers like Shaan, Kunal Ganjawala, Udit Narayan and others. He is only his own competitor and the viewers expect him to explore more and reach out to the audience of other parts of the world.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendosa formed a group of composers and blended their styles while contributing to bollywood cinema. Shankar had sound base in Carnatic classical, Ehsaan had expertise in western rock, Loy specialized in electronic synthesizer.

In Mission Kashmir, in 2000, they had composed Kashmiri music with songs like “bhuomro bhuomro”, where Preeti Zinta and Hrithik Roshan gave able lips. They amazed the viewers with the songs “woh ladki hai kahan” in the film Dil Chahta Hai, for Saif Ali Khan.

They made a great impact on bollywood listeners with the songs “kal ho na ho” sung by Sonu Nigam in the film Kal Ho Na Ho. All the songs in the film became landmark hits like “mahi ve” sung by Sonu Nigam, Udit Narayan, “pretty woman” sung by Shankar Mahadevan, “kuch to hua hai” sung by Shaan and Alka Yagnik. Sonu Nigam won the filmfare award for the best singer for singing the song of Kal Ho Na Ho and Shankar Ehsaan Loy won the best music director award for the year and also national award.

Their song in the film Lakshya, titled “agar mai kahun” sung by Udit Narayan and picturised on Hrithik Roshan impressed the crowds. Their songs in the film Bunty Aur Babli, like “dharak dharak” sung by Udit Narayan and “aisi nazar se dekha” sung by Alisha Chinnoy became super hit. They stormed bollywood films with their composition in Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna. Sonu Nigam and Alka Yagnik won the best playback inger awards and Shankar Ehsaan Loy won the filmfare award for the best music director in that year.

In the film Don, their composition for Alisha Chinoy and Sonu Nigam titled “aaj ki raat” and Sunidhi Chouhan titled “yeh mera dil” became super hits with Priyanka Chopra, Kareena Kapoor giving able lips opposite Shahrukh Khan. Their songs in the film Salaam-e-ishq, “salaam-e-ishq” by Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal and others and “tenu leke” sung by Sonu Nigam and Mahalakshmi Ayer became super duper hits, with Salman Khan and Priyanka Chopra at their best. They are still continuing their impressive work in films like Hey Babby and Tare Zameen Par and the viewers and the listeners expect them to experiment more in the years to come.

Friday, September 26, 2008

Bikash Roy had been one of the educated actors of Bengali classic films who had acted in different types of roles. In Uttar Falguni, he played the role of a barrister in Kolkata High Court who could not marry Suchitra Sen as he went to study abroad but after coming to know that she had become a tawaif due to circumstances he taught her daughter and made her a barrister who pleaded the murder case of her mother at the end of the film. The performance of Bikash Roy had the compassion for his wife and love for his daughter. He was sublime in the dynamic role. Ashok Kumar played his character in the hindi film Mamta made on the same story.

He had acted opposite Suchitra Sen in other films like Sreeti Tuku Thak, to Surjo Toron and Sandha Deeper Sikha. In all these films his mellifluous voice had made the viewers spell bound. He also directed notable films like Basant Bahar which was based on music of ustadi gharana, Morutirtha Hinglaj which was based on story related to tours and travels and Surjotapa.

He had very good comedy instinct which was displayed in the film Chele Kaar, where an unknown child one day sat in his car in a Park in Kolkata and called him his father. He could not leave the child anywhere and had to accept him as he was attached to him and Arundhuti Debi, his wife. Chabi Biswas acted as the father of Bikash Roy and also showed his dynamism in the field of comedy and film became super hit in the early 50s. Bikash Roy was elegant in the comedy role in Choddobeshi opposite Uttam Kumar. His role was played by Om Prakash in the hindi film Chupke Chupke.

Due to his capability of modulation of the voice he got a scope of acting in negative roles starting from Jighangsha, where he was deprived of property of princely estate. He took revenge by killing each of the princes. He was ultimately arrested by the detective in the film. The film was remade in hindi with the title Bees Saal Baad. Bikash Roy was sublime in his role in Tapan Sinha’s film Arohi, where Kali Banerjee was his compounder. He was a doctor and after his death his compounder shed his blood to bring up and educate his child. His other notable films include Arogyo Niketan, Dadu, etc.If Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen had made Bengali films reach its level of excellence with their romantic performance then Bikash Roy had facilitated their stories with the diversified characters he had played for a period of 30 years. He was an indispensable actor of Bengali films and his films should be restored for those reasons.

Manoj Kumar entered bollywood films in the early 60s when there was stiff competition with stars like Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor dominating the film world and actors like Shammi Kapoor, Rajender Kumar, Pradeep Kumar, Raj Kumar, Bharat Bhushan already created their recognition. Manoj Kumar initially acted in romantic films and most of them became hits for having very impressive music.

His film Hariyali Aur Raasta had melodious songs like “yeh hariyali aur yeh raasta”, “iftedah-e-ishq me hum”, etc, sung by Lata and Mukesh and composed by Shankar Jaikishan were very popular. The songs in Raj Khosla’s crime thriller Woh Kaun Thi composed by Madanmohan were excellent by every musical standard. Although most of the songs were picturised on Sadhna as Manoj Kumar was the doctor in the film who unearthedthe mystery relating to existence of Sadhna, the songs of Lata like “Lag ja gale se phir”, “naina bares”, etc., became historical hits in the long run and the film became extremely successful.

Even in Manoj Kumar’s Gumnaam, which was another crime-thriller, the songs composed by Shankar Jaikishan created a spooky atmosphere. Rafi’s song “ek ladki ne”, “o mere man”, and Lata and Asha’s songs in the film including “gumnaam hai koi”, “is duniya me jeena hai to” became super hits in the mid-60s and had not lost their popularity even today. Even Mehmood’s song by Rafi in comedy andaz titled “hum kale hai to kya hua” amused the viewers.

Even Manoj Kumar’s songs in the film Upkaar, composed by Kalyanji Anandji, impressed the crowds. From that film Manoj Kumar’s directorial talent was unearthed and his patriotic feelings made him Bharat Kumar. Songs of Manna Dey like “kasme wade”, Mahendra Kapoor like “mere desh ki dharti” stormed bollywood in 1967. Also the songs in the film Do Badan, composed by Ravi became hits, including Rafi’s song “raha gardishon me”, and Asha’s song “jab chali thandi hawa”.

LP’s composition for Manoj Kumar in the film Patthar Ke Sanam was also hit including Rafi’s song “patthar ke sanam” and Mukesh’s song “tauba yeh matwaali chaal”, to name a few. Manoj Kumar continued to make patriotic films and the songs in all these films like Purab Aur Paschim, Roti Kapra Aur Makaan, Kranti had very meaningful music. Music created a special attraction for viewers of Manoj Kumar’s films and for those reasons both his films and the songs should be preserved.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Rajender Kumar acted in many landmark films in the 60s and successfully performed opposite leading actresses of that age including Meena Kumari, Sadhna, Wahida Rehman, etc. But his performance opposite Vaijayantimala created a distinct impact on the viewers.

Vaijayantimala previously formed a legendary combination with Dilip Kumar. In the film Sangam, she was attached with Rajender Kumar, but Rajender Kumar due to his soft corner for Raj Kapoor he could not express it. Raj Kapoor joined the airforce and the news relating to his death surprised Rajender Kumar and Vaijayantimala. At the time when they made up their mind of marrying each other Raj Kapoor again returned back and Vaijayantimala married him. Rajender Kumar sacrificed his life for his friends. The viewers were in their tears when Rafi’s song “ki tum naraz na hona” was played when his ashes were immersed by Raj Kapoor and Vaijayantimala in the holy prayag sangam in Allahabad.

Both of them acted together in the film Suraj where Rajender Kumar was a prince and Vaijayantimala was a princess. It was an action-pact film where the melodious songs composed by Shankar Jaikishan created a great impact on the audience. Songs of Rafi, Lata and Asha including “chehre pe giri zulfen”, “kaise samjhayun”, “itna hai tujhse pyar mujhe”, “baharon phool barsao”, etc, mesmerized the viewers.

Both of them did well in the film Saathi also, where Rajender Kumar became blind. The music was composed by Naushad, and Mukesh and Lata sung very well songs like “mera pyar bhi tu hai” and others. Vaijayantimala gave a spirited performance in the film Zindagi opposite Rajender Kumar. She was not accepted by her father-in-law played by Prithviraj Kapoor, and she struggled hard with her mother to stay separately, without the support of Rajender Kumar. He accepted her at the end of the film and repented for the misunderstanding.

Their other hit films include Aas Ka Panchi, Ganwar, etc., and in all these films the romantic pair got the appreciation of the mass audience. Their films had strong storyline and music and for those reasons should be restored.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Fashion is a film directed by Madhur Bhandarkar dealing with the life of a super model played by Priyanka Chopra. She had a dream to fulfil. She had come from a small town and wanted to become a celebrity in a big city who could attract the attention of crores of people.

She reached the summit at one point of time. She got the admiration of her fans and also the offers of designers and endorsers. But when she reached the top she realized that maintaining her number on spot was even more difficult. She started losing her popularity and new tastes compelled people from diverting their focus which was with her for a long time.

The music of the film had been composed by Salim Sulaiman. The music is impressive and can attract the audience. The other actors and actresses who had provided decent performance include Arbaaz Khan, Kangana Ranaut, Mugdha Godse and Neil Nitin Mukesh.

The struggle of models in the Indian fashion industry had been well depicted by Madhur Bhandarkar. He had previously caught the attention of viewers with his films Page 3, Chandni Bar, Corporate, etc.

But he has experimented with a mainstream film after making a number of off-beat films in the past. The film has the potential of drawing crowds in big numbers in the film halls. But the story is not totally unique and the viewers may get bored at some point of time. Even then the film is destined to do well.

Rafi’s relationship with Shankar Jaikishan had not been glorified in bollywood history.

Rafi had a very sweet relationship with Shankar Jaikishan but unfortunately their relationship had not been glorified in bollywood history. Whenever contribution of composers relating to classic creations involving Rafi are highlighted the name of Naushad, Roshan, Madanmohan, OP Nayyar are glorified and the contribution of Shankar Jaikishan is ignored.

If Rafi’s stylish andaz relating to westernized compositions are adequately utilised it is Shankar Jaikishan who had used it to perfection. They had used Rafi for singing romantic songs with Japanese orchestration in Love in Tokyo including songs like “aja re aa zara aa”, “Japan, Love in Tokyo”, “ o mere shahekhuba”, etc. In Biswajeet’s April Fool SJ’s composition for Rafi including “aa gale lag ja” had westernized background.

SJ’s composition for Rafi in Shammi Kapoor’s An Evening in Paris like “akele akele kahan ja rahe ho”, “raat ke humsafar”, had loud French music with echo effect and Rafi’s intonation was also westernized. Shankar Jaikishan gave a completely different style of music to Rafi in Rajender Kumar’s Aarzoo with songs like “aji ruth kar ab”, “chalke teri aankho se”, “ai nargisi mastana”, etc.

Shankar Jaikishan had used Rafi’s classical andaz in the songs “radheke tune bansoori churai”, “ajahu na aye”, etc., and combined the ragas with devotional andaz. SJ ha given music in almost 200 films within the span from 1949 to 1971, and at least each year they composed music for approximately 10 films. As Rafi was given predominance over other male singers SJ had used him in regular intervals even without doing injustice to Mukesh, Manna Dey, Kishore Kumar, Talat Mehmood and others. Songs like “kaun hai jo sapno me aya” from Jhuk Gaya Aasman, “to bura maan gaye” from Ayee Milan Ki Bela, “yeh ankhen” from Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai, “tujhe jeevan ki dor se” from Aasli Nakli, “dheere dheere chal” from Love Marriage, “badan pe sitaren lapete hue” from Prince, “mai kahin kavi na banjayun” from Pyar Hi Pyar, “mai gayun tum so jao” from Brahmchari, had not lost their flavour even 40 years after their creation due to sheer brilliance of Shankar Jaikishan. It is really tragic neither Shankar Jaikishan had received the accolades that they deserved nor Rafi’s association with them had been glorified but history says that the combination of Rafi with Shankar Jaikishan had produced invaluable creations which had become immortal over the period of time.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Laxmikant Pyarellal had a very successful career in bollywood films. Their success in the film Parasmani and Dosti had proved the fact that they had emerged in the film arena to play a long innings. In the 70s they gave music in most of the successful films and the music was innovative too.

After the death of Jaikishan in 1971, Raj Kapoor used LP in the film Bobby in 1973. The songs “mai shayar to nahi” sung by Shailendra Singh, and songs sung by Chanchal had given them an opening for flourishing their musical careers as well. LP gave successful music in the film Aan Milon Sajna, where songs like “aan milon sajna” sung by Rafi and “acha to hum chalte hai” sung by Lata and Kishore became hits.

LP gave successful music in the film Amar Akbar Anthony, where Rafi’s songs “parda hai parda”, “shirdiwali saibaba”, Kishore’s song “my name is Anthony Gonsalves”, etc., had catered to the popular taste of film music. LP gave successful music in Rishi Kapoor’s film Sargam, with hit songs of Rafi and Lata including “dafliwale”, “koel boli”, “ramjiki nikli sawari”, etc.

Even the songs in Rishi Kapoor’s film Karz, including “darde dil” sung by Rafi and “om shanty om” sung by Kishore gave super hit in the late 70s. Songs like “yeh dil tum bin kahin lagta nahi” sung by Rafi and Lata in the film Izzat, and “patta patta boota boota”, sung by Rafi and Lata, in Ek Nazar are quality compositions showing the class of LP.

LP also gave quality songs in the film Jeevan Mrityu, with Rafi’s song like “jhilmil sitaronka”, songs like “o sapno ka raja” sung by Rafi and Lata in the film Banphool.

LP in many cases compromised with the taste of mass audience in composing music in the late 70s if compared with the superlative class of music composed in the 60s. He even gave classical songs in the 60s like “roushan tumhi se duniya” and “woh jab yaad aye” sung by Rafi and Lata in the film Parasmani based on classical touch.

Even then the compositions of LP in the 70s are notable and should be preserved.

Lata Mangeshkar ruled the world of playback singing in bollywood films for over 50 years. In the 60s with advancement of recording techniques composers did innovative experiments with Lata and Rafi and the songs had created history over the period of time. Shankar Jaikishan composed songs for Lata ranging from “ehsaan tera hoga mujhpar” in Junglee, to “sayonara, sayonara” with Japanese andaz in Love in Tokyo, “aa ab laut chale” with chorus effect in Jis Desh Me Ganga Behti Hai to “aji ruth kar ab” in Aarzoo having classical touch. Even the song “aa aa bhi ja” in Teesri Kasam had folk effect embedded in them. The list can go on.

Madanmohan composed very melodious tunes in the 60s for Lata including “naina barse”, “lagja gale”, in the film Woh Kaun Thi, “tu jahan jahan chalega” in Mera Saya, to name a few. Roshan had given evergreen tunes for Lata in that era including “dil jo na keh saka” in Bheegi Raat which was also sung by Rafi, “jo wada kiya woh, nibhana parega” in Taj Mahal, “duniya kare sawal to hum kya jawab de” in Bahu Begum, “rahe na rahe hum” in Mamta, “baharon ki manzil rahi” in Aarti, to name a few.

Jaidev’s composition for Lata titled “allah tero naam” in Hum Dono, had become national bhajan over the years, similarly SD Burman’s composition for Lata including “rulake gaya sapna mera”, “piya tose naina lage re” had combined effect of folk and romantic song.

Lata herself agreed that the standard of lyrics and compositions in the 60s were probably the greatest in all the decades and the compositions had become rich musical assets for the country.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Chabi Biswas was probably the greatest character artist Indian celluloid had ever produced. His superlative class of performance had been acknowledged by brilliant directors like Satyajit Ray, Hrithik Ghatak, Raj Kapoor, Tapan Sinha, but he had remained unsung, unhonoured, unlamented.

Ray had a very serious personality and hardly required any improvisation as his innovative scripts had almost everything embedded in them. But Chabi Biswas brought out his own dimensions in the role of Feudal Lord in the film Jalsaghar. He combined the aristocracy and the dignity of the feudal lord in the colonial period and at times astonished Ray himself with his dynamic performances.

He even sold his wife’s ornaments to organize a musical program in his banquet room to maintain his dominance as a feudal lord. Singers from renowned classical gharana came and performed in the show and the entire village was invited to witness it. With the loss in revenue and poverty during British regime, he committed suicide by dying on horseback.

He was sublime in the film Debi, where he visualized Goddess Kali in the human form in Sharmila Tagore, his daughter –in –law. The entire concept was related to his belief and his son Soumitra took exception about the thing but was helpless. Sharmila became sick as it was awkward on her part to see his father-in-law touching her feet as she was believed to be Debi, the human form of Goddess.

Chabi Biswas was majestic in his classic role in the film Kanchenjungha. Ray experimented with a remote subject where the greatness of the Himalayas freed the mental blockade of middle-class bengalies. Arun Mukherjee, one of the unemployed youth even did not accept the job offered by big industrialist played by Chabi Biswas. At the end of the film Chabi Biswas realized the greatness of the great mountain range and surrendered before it. The film could not be understood by mass audience as it dealt with the concept of realization although the colourful photography of Ray in Darjeeling was well appreciated. But critics had acclaimed Chabi Biswas and said that he was the last name for the depiction of aristocracy in any form. He died in a tragic accident in 1962 and Indian celluloid lost one of its greatest actors ever. His films should be preserved for projection of dynamism, class, dignity, aristocracy and majestic demeanour.

Amrish Puri emerged as one of the most powerful character artists in notable films of Shyam Benegal and Govind Nihalini and used his experience of stage and parallel cinema in commercial films where he is considered as one of the most versatile actors of all times. His performance in films like Bhumika, Akrosh had created a great impact on viewers.

He playedtherole of a notorious smuggler in the film Shakti with the name JK. Dilip Kumar, an honest police officer in the film raided most of his unlawful godowns and seized the smuggled products stored by Amrish Puri. Amrish Puri killed Rakhee to take revenge against Dilip Kumar. Big B, the song of Dilip Kumar chased Amrish Puri and killed him in the Airport. The strong personality of Dilip Kumar was balance by the powerful performance of Amrish Puri.

Amrish Puri was sublime in his villainish performance in the film Mashal opposite Dilip Kumar. Dilip Kumar was a journalist in the film and Amrish Puri destroyed his house and his oppression led to death of Wahida Rehman, his wife without treatment. He reformed Anil Kapoor and he became a journalist at the end of the film. Amrish Puri kept the balance of the film with his criminal acts.

Amrish Puri gave a new dimension to the concept of negative roles by brilliant performance in the role of Mogambo in the film Mr. India. Anil Kapoor got a device by which he became invisible and Amrish Puri wanted the device so that he could rule the world. He dominated the film and his dialogues in the film became famous all over the world.

Amrish Puri played significant roles in the films Ghayal, Damini, etc., opposite Sunny Deol, sometimes as a corrupted industrialist and sometimes as wicked lawyer. He expressed his feelings relating to cruelty, fear, anxiety very well in these films. At one time he became indispensable in bollywood films and films like Andha Kanoon, Aaj Ka Arjun got added importance due to his performance. New actors should learn a lot from the powerful performances of Amrish Puri.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Farooq Sheikh had created a new dimension in bollywood films by playing roles both in commercial films and parallel films. He played the role of the friend of Nasirruddin Shah in the film Katha. It was comedy film where Nasir played the role of an innocent person who wanted to marry Dipti Naval. Farooq Sheikh gave the impression in the colony that he was rich and well to do, all was based on lies. At the end his deeds or misdeeds were unfolded.

He played the role of frustrated young person in Saath Saath with Dipti Naval. After completing the education career he was looking for jobs and the search was complicated. Both Jagjit Singh and Chitra Singh sung meaningful songs in the film including “kyun zindagi ke raah me majboor ho gaye”, “tumko dekha to yeh khayal aya”, etc.

In Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s film Kisi Se Na Kehna, Farooq Sheikh had played the role of the son of Utpal Dutta, a strict father who loved traditional values. He had an affair with Dipti Naval, who was a doctor. He took the help of Saeed Jaffery, his uncle who told Utpal Dutta that Dipti Naval was a village girl, and taught her the details of Indian epics and got her married to Farooq Sheikh.

He had also played important roles in films like Noorie and Umrao Jaan. He is also remembered for comedy films like Chasme Badoor and Peecha Karo.

He even played the role of Sarat Chandra Chatterji, the famous writer of Bengal in the TV serial related to him under the title of Srikanto. His tv program “jeena isi ka naam hai” is still popular among viewers across the country for his unique style of interviewing celebrities.

The viewers expect him to make comeback in bollywood films in character roles as he has a lot of acting left in him.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Lara Dutta had played very dynamic roles in her illustrious career in bollywood films but inspite of her powerful acting skills is yet to get the recognition that she deserves. She acted in the role of an advocate in the film Bardasht opposite Bobby Deol.

She argued in the case in respect of a murder of Bobby’s relative who was killed by the police officials. There were hardly any material evidence to prove the real incident and her senior counsel took the brief of the conspirators. Witnesses were killed by the conspirators and Lara Dutta utilized the evidence available before her to prove the real incident. The role required education and talent and Lara Dutta was elegant in the film.

In the film Kaal, she played an important role along with Ajay Devgan, Esha Deol, John Abraham, Vivek Oberoi, etc. There were rumours of mysterious death of many people in Corbett National Park due to man-eating tigers in that place. Lara Dutta came with Vivek Oberoi in the adventurous trip and ultimately realized that their tour guide played by Ajay Devgan was a supernatural being who was responsible for the killings of the respective people. The performance of Lara Dutta had elements of fear, anxiety, etc., and she did very well in the film.

She acted in completely different type of role in the film No Entry. It was a comedy film where Salman Khan engaged Bipasha Basu to have affair with Anil Kapoor and in the process he disturbed the family peace of both Anil Kapoor and Fardeen Khan. Lara Dutta was suspicious about Anil Kapoor and her belief was proved to be true and she gave divorce to her husband. The songs in the film were as successful as the film itself.

She did very well in other films like Bhagam Bhag, Zinda, Partner, etc. By this period of time she had shown her elegance in both romantic roles and action films and also showed her comedy skills.

Her efforts should be rewarded and she should bag awards for her memorable performance in future. The viewers expect her to continue the good work in future.

Govind Nihalini carried forward the strong film-making culture of Shyam Benegal, one of the leading story-tellers of the country. He worked with him as an assistant in the beginning but later on developed his own style of direction. He amazed the viewers with the creation of the film Aakrosh.

It was related to a tribal subject-matter where Om Puri worked in a mill in a backward village. His wife played by Smita Patil was ill-treated and killed by the employers of the factory and the allegation was made on Om Puri. His tongue was also cut so that he could not speak.

Nasiruddin Shah took up the case but he could not get any support from anyone. In fact he was threatened at times that if he continued with the case he would have been killed. His senior counsel played by Amrish Puri was also involved in the murder.

Om Puri was released on parole to attend the cremation ceremony of his relatives and he killed his sister to prevent her from being killed by the employers. The performance of Om Puri was excellent and the film bagged many awards in the early 80s.

After the success of Akrosh, Govind Nihalini experimented with bold subjects like the one in Ardha Satya. Om Puri played the role of an honest police officer and faced the challenges of internal politics within the police department.

He created Tamas, which was on the problems of partition when India attained independence. Om Puri came with his family from Pakistan to India and faced riot situations in the state of Punjab. He was a menial worker and thought the riot did break out for his overt act.

There were other notable films like Drohkaal, which were based on subjects relating to violence in the country and the film was well appreciated by critics.

Sometimes critics had argued that Govind Nihalini had shown too much of violence in his films but he had justified them by saying that he had shown the truth and went into details of the story. Modern directors can learn a lot from the realistic works of Govind Nihalini.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Bosonto Choudhury had acted in classic films in his illustrious career from the 50s to the 80s. He started his career with the film Mahaprashthaner Pathe with Arundhuti Debi. The film was related to literature based on experiences of traveler.

In Deep Jele Jai, he played the role of an insane person who became lost his sanity due to the ill-treatment he received from the girl he loved. Suchitra Sen played the role of the nurse who acted as the wife of Bosonto Choudhury and he recovered from the illness. At the end of the film Suchitra Sen became insane as she could not continue the acting for other patients. The legendary film was remade in hindi under the title Khamoshi where Wahida Rehman played Suchitra Sen’s character.

In Shankhabela, Bosonto Choudhury played the role of a doctor who cured Madhabi Mukherjee’s son. She was neglected by her husband Uttam Kumar who was too ambitious and for getting promotions as company executive led a fast life. The child faced the neglect and suffered. At the end of the film Bosonto Choudhury cured the child and also reunited the family.

Bosonto Choudhury played the role of Bhabani Pathak, the guru who had trained Suchitra Senas Debi Chowdhurani which was written by Bankim Chandra Chatterji. He made Debi Choudhurani, the leader of dacoits and trained her to learn warfare and have her own security. The personality of Suchitra Sen was balanced by the personality of Bosonto Choudhury.

He was known for his reserve personality and displayed it with success after the towering actor Chabi Biswas. He was elegant also and that was used by Bimal Roy in the bollywood film Parakh. His notable films also included Prothom Pratishruti.

Although he acted in limited number of films, his performance in legendary roles like the one in the historical film Raja Ram Mohan Roy is still remembered by cinematic audience of the country.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Rafi had sung legendary songs for all the leading stars of bollywood films in the 50s, 60s and 70s. Rajender Kumar had given lips in many sophisticated songs of Rafi. Major compositions wee that of Shankar Jaikishan who had contributed for the high class of music during the golden age of bollywood music.

In the film Suraj, SJ composed the songs for Rafi including “bharaon phool barsao”, “kaise samjhayoon”, “itna hai tujhse pyar hai mujhe”, etc, which were all successful and contributed for the success of the film. Lata and Asha also sung their songs very well in the film. Rajender Kumar was elegant in giving lips in the film.

In the film Ai Milan ki Bela, SJ’s composition for Rafi included hit songs like “aha ai Milan ki bela”, “to bura maan gaye”, “tum khamseen ho”, etc. All the songs were hit and the pair of Rajender Kumar and Saira Banu was well accepted by filmlovers. The songs in the film Jhuk Gaya Aasman, including “o priya, kaun hai jo sapno me aya”, “kahan chal diye”, etc., were equally successful and the romantic pair of Rajender Kumar and Saira Banu stormed bollywood during that age.

SJ composed romantic songs for Rajender Kumar in the film Humrahi, including songs like “mujhko apne gale lagalo”, “yeh aasoon”, etc., which had the romantic andaz of Rafi. Rafi was elegant in the film Dil Ek Mandir as well, where Meena Kumari and Raj Kumar gave lifetime performances opposite Rajender Kumar, the songs “jahan koi nahi”, “dil ek mandir hai”, “yaad na jaye”, had not lost their appeal today.

SJ, Rafi and Rajender Kumar had a huge partnership in giving hit songs for over ten years and even songs like “meherbaan likhoon”, in the film Sangam, show the class of composition even after 40 years of creation. The songs and the films should be preserved for their aesthetic value.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Anil Chatterji, on of the towering actors of Bengali cinema had performed in dynamic roles both in the realistic films of Satyajit Ray, Hrithik Ghatak, at the same time had performed in commercial films opposite Uttam Kumar. He played the role of Post Master to perfection in Ray’s film Teen Kanya based on Tagore’s literature. He reached the depth of the character to understand the feelings of as teenage girl who used to work for the post master in a remote village of West Bengal who attached herself with him and when he got transferred became sad and continued with her solitary life in the remote village.

He surprised Tragedy King Dilip Kumar in the Bengali and hindi version of the film Sagina Mahato directed by Tapan Sinha. Dilip Kumar was a union leader who understood the pulse of the northeastern people and became their leader but Anil Chatterji used him for the enhancement of popularity of his own party and after the goal was fulfilled he made him a villain in the eyes of the same people ho made him the leader.

In Hrithik Ghatak’s Meghe Dhaka Tara, Anil Chatterji, acted as a singer who had faced the pains of partition of Bengal during India’s independence and lived a tragic life. Is sister played by Supriya Chowdhury worked as a teacher and fed the family. Anil Chatterji struggled hard and got success in classical music in the frag end of the film but by that time his sister got infected with tuberculosis and he could not save her life. He displayed the compassionate shades of character and showed his observation in life and displayed the helplessness of a victim of partition.

He played the role of Deshbandhu CR Das in a historical film and was appreciated for his spirited performance. He also acted as a police officer in Shakti Samanta’s successful film Amanush, in both the bengali and hindi version where Uttam Kumar was the leading actor and when required Anil Chatterji even whipped Uttam Kumar to transform his character.

It is difficult to mention the contribution of legendary actor like Anil Chatterji in a small article as his films Komol Gandhar, Mahanagar, Ami Se O Sakha, Nirjan Saikate are milestones of Bengali films, and had Soumitra Chatterji not got the accolade of a powerful character actor in realistic films, Anil Chatterji could have been portrayed as strong competitor of Uttam Kumar, the greatest superstar of bengali cinema. His films should be restored and preserved.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Satyajit Ray had been a trend-setter in different spheres of film making. The use of music in his films had been grammatical and meaningful.

For example in the film Pather Panchali, he used the expertise of Pandit Ravishankar to use the theme music at the time when Kanu Banerjee, the father of Durga, the girl who died due to lack of medical treatment, returned home. Her father never knew anything about the incident. There was a severe storm the last night which destroyed property in the village.

Kanu Banerjee saw the destructive picture of the village and realized that there was bad news for him. He came to know about the death of the daughter. When he gave the clothes that he bought for the family including the saree that he bought for Durga, his wife cried. The weeping sound was faded away by the theme music of Ray.

The same theme music was carried forward in Aparajito and Apur Sangsar, the following parts of Apu Trilogy. There was royal class of music used in the film Jalsaghar, where Chabi Biswas played the role of the feudal lord during the colonial period.

The ustadi gharana of music was exhibited in the film which was appreciated by the Zamindars of that time. Ray composed his own music in the films Goopi Gayin Bagha Bayin and Hirok Rajar Deshe.

Modern directors can learn a lot from the realistic use of music in the films of Ray and for that reason the films and the music should be restored.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Tagore had a huge contribution to classical literature which compelled leading directors of bollywood to direct films based on his stories. Bimal Roy the great director of the 60s who had memorable films like Bandini, Devdas, etc., used Tagore literature for the film Kabuliwala.

The original version of the film was made by Tapan Sinha who made a film Kabuliwala where Chabi Biswas, one of the greatest Bengali actors ever to grace the silver screen made landmark impact. He was an Afghan person who had come to Kolkata to sell his produce.

His entire family was back in Kabul and he saw a little Bengali girl called Mini, who brought his memories relating to his own daughter in Afghanistan back. He loved the child.

Later when he was imprisoned and did not have money to return back to his own country the father of Mini paid the amount that he reserved for daughter’s marriage and gave it to Chabi Biswas. The daughter was married in a good family.

Balraj Sahani played the same role in Bimal Roy’s Devdas and did well. In both the films Tagore’s passion for a father was well depicted. It did not make any difference whether the father lived in Kolkata or Afghanistan, the heart of a father for the daughter was similar.

The film received many awards both at the national and international level. Tagore’s stories were also used in Bengali films like Ghare Baire, Teen Kanya which were directed by Satyajit Ray.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Just as Shankar Jaikishan had been instrumental in the musical success of Raj Kapoor’s films and Naushad was associated with Dilip Kumar, in the same way SD Burman had great contribution in the musical success of Dev Anand’s films. His music in the film Kala Pani was successful with Rafi’s songs “hum bekhudi me tum ko pukare”, and “acha ji mai hari”. The songs in Kala Bazar were equally successful with songs like “khoya khoya chand”.

In the film Tere Ghar Ke Saamne, all the songs were melodious including “tere ghar ke saamne”, “tu kahan yeh bata”, etc. Rafi and Lata had sung sweet songs in the film which were picturised on Dev Anand and Nootan. The songs of the film Teen Deviyan were successful including “aise to na dekho” sung by Rafi and “are yaar mera dil bhi hai gazab” sung by Kishore Kumar.

Probably SD Burman gave his best in the film Guide. The song “kya se kya ho gaya”, “tere mere sapne” and “din dhal jaye” sung by Rafi, “gata rahe mera dil” sung by Kishore and “piya tose naina lagere” and “katon se kheech ke who aanchal” sung by Lata were landmarks in Indian film industry. The songs were as popular as the film.

SD Burman also contributed well in the film Jewel Thief. Asha’s song “raat nashili hai” was as successful as Lata’s song “rulake gaya sapna mera” and Rafi’s song “dil pukare are are are” was as successful as Kishore’s song “yeh dil na hota bechara”. The film was a crime thriller and the powerful performance of Ahsok Kumar and Vaijayantimala was matched by the quality music composed by SD Burman.

The other successful films of Dev Anand where SD Burman contributed with quality music include Prem Pujari, Taxi Driver, Baazi, etc. SD Burman gave good songs to Geeta Dutt, Mukesh, Talat Mehmood and other singers as well.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Katrina Kaif had given hit films one after the other in the last few years. Her dialogues were dubbed as she was not comfortable with the hindi language. Yet her screen presence and effortless performance had compelled directors to cast her in important roles.

She played an important role in the film Namaste London. She played the role of the daughter of Rishi Kapoor, who was brought up in London. Rishi Kapoor was worried about the materialistic society of London and wanted his daughter to be married with an Indian. He got her married to Akshay Kumar who was the son of his Punjabi friend. But Katrina returned back to London and ignored the marriage as the marriage had no legal sanctity in London.

She wanted to marry a British boy of her choice. Akshay Kumar explained to her his pains and his simplicity and modesty transformed Katrina and at the end of the film she agreed to return back to India with Akshay Kumar. Both of them well in the film Welcome. In that film Katrina was the sister of underworld dons Anil Kapoor and Nana Patekar.

Paresh Rawal wanted to get Akshay Kumar married in a decent family. But he entered into an affair with Katrina Kaif and it resulted in getting him married in an underworld family. Although it was a comedy film and Katrina had limited scope, yet she played her role satisfactorily.

In Singh is Kinng, she played the role of a law student and entered into an affair with Akshay Kumar, when he went to Australia to bring back one of his fellow Punjabi back to India. She got irritated with people engaged with any offense and showed her irritation. On the whole her performance was spirited enough to create an impact on the minds of viewers.

Even her films Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya and Partner were successful. In both these films she played the romantic characters to perfection. Even her villainish performance in the film Race opposite Akshay Khanna requires special mention. The viewers expect her to continue the good work in the years to come.

Dr. Souvik Chatterji

Master of Law from Warwick University, Coventry,UK

Received Doctorate Degree in Philosophy of law from National Law University, Jodhpur after submitting PhD Thesis in Law in National Law University, Jodhpur on the topic “Treatment of Cartels in India and USA”.